Childress Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 (edited) During the Cuban Missile crisis in 1962, flotilla commander Vasili Arkhipov and the second-in-command of the nuclear-missile submarine B-59 resisted pressure to launch. Wiki: Unlike the other subs in the flotilla, three officers on board the B-59 had to agree unanimously to authorise a nuclear launch: Captain Savitsky, the political officer Ivan Semonovich Maslennikov, and the second-in-command Arkhipov. Typically, Russian submarines armed with the "Special Weapon" only required the captain to get authorization from the political officer to launch a nuclear torpedo. However, due to Arkhipov's position as flotilla commander, the B-59's captain also was required to gain Arkhipov's approval. An argument broke out, with only Arkhipov against the launch. Immediately upon return to Russia, many crew members were faced with disgrace from their superiors. One Admiral told them “‘It would have been better if you’d gone down with your ship.” Olga, Arkhipov's wife, said "he didn't like talking about it, he felt they hadn't appreciated what they had gone through." He died in 1998 from the effects of radiation exposure incurred during the so-called K-19 accident just prior to the Cuban missile crisis. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_submarine_K-19 Edited March 22, 2017 by Childress 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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